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Preoperative strabismus linked to poor visual outcomes after cataract surgery
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CHICAGO — Pediatric patients with preoperative strabismus showed significantly reduced visual function after cataract extraction and IOL implantation compared with patients without strabismus, according to a study presented here.
Before pediatric patients with strabismus undergo cataract surgery, they should have aggressive occlusion therapy to better enhance their postoperative visual results, Justin H. Arbuckle, MD, said at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting.
"Perhaps if surgeons more aggressively encouraged parents to patch or use glasses, it would give these higher-risk eyes a better chance at improved vision," Dr. Arbuckle said.
Dr. Arbuckle presented results of a retrospective case review that he and colleagues conducted of 155 eyes; patients averaged 5.6 ± 3.91 years at the time of cataract surgery. Fifty-four eyes had preop strabismus, and 101 did not have strabismus. Patients had either bilateral or unilateral cataracts, he said.
The researchers found that about 30% of cases with preop strabismus and bilateral cataracts achieved excellent or good vision postoperatively, while 87% of cases without preop strabismus achieved excellent or good vision after surgery.
They found similar results for patients with unilateral cataracts. Approximately 35% of cases with preop strabismus had excellent or good vision postop compared with 75% of cases without strabismus that had excellent or good vision postop.